Rose Petal Graves (The Lost Clan Book 1) Kindle Edition

Weird Dialogue: “Is the big guy a friend of yours?” Cruz asked, watching the gaping doorway.“He is.”“What happened to his face?”“IED blast. He enlisted after high school.”Is this absurd dialogue to you? Because this exact conversation happens not once, but twice. Absolute strangers ask Cat, our main character, bluntly what happened to her best friend’s face and she blurts it out. Unfortunately a lot of the dialogue throughout the book was like this.Diverse/Unique Characters: I do have to give the author credit for making unique and diverse choices, especially when it came to her characters. I think this is the first fiction novel I’ve read where the main character’s family runs a mortuary. Catori is mixed race (part fictional Native American). It was refreshing and added well to the book’s story line.Dumber than Faes: My mouth unbolted. “You know Gwenelda?”“I know about her. I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting her yet.”“She said that it would keep me safe from…” I frowned, trying to remember her exact words.“From whom?”“She actually didn’t tell me.”“She didn’t?”“No. She didn’t have time.”“Do you mind getting rid of it?” he asked me.“Why?”“Because if you don’t, I’m going to have to leave.”“That wouldn’t be such a bad thing.”“That’s not very nice.”...The stone had warmed in my palm. Although Gwen hadn’t told me from whom it would protect me, Cruz just had. By admitting he was averse to iron, I deduced the necklace was supposed to protect me from him.Wow, just wow. We’re so lucky to have this shining star in med school. Cat made idiotic choices and said stupid things constantly. I found myself rereading huge chunks of the book to make sure my late night reading wasn’t causing me to be delusional. I struggled with the writing choice of ‘faes’ as well. I read a lot of urban fantasy and regular fantasy, and this is the first time I’ve seen an author choose to tack on an ‘s’ to fae.Love...Shape: There is NO REASON for Cat to like Cruz. None, except for his looks. She’s not positive he didn’t kill her mother and the actual medical examiner. He’s engaged and his fiance, Lily, loves him. I just don’t-UGH. Then there’s freaking Blake who has adored her since they were kids. I don’t want Cat to pity love him but come on? As an author you can’t throw emotional crap like that at me then have a total creep like Cruz as the choice Cat goes for. And don’t even get my started on the utterly ridiculous interest from Kajika. When were they not threatening each other? Never? Oh.Blake sighed and it rumbled like the warm air blasting out of the car’s heater. “Are you trying to destroy the only part of me that wasn’t damaged in the blast?”Grey: Much of the book keeps the reader guessing which side (the fae or the faehunters) are ‘good’. I really enjoyed not knowing and flip flopping sides. (I think I really enjoyed hating everyone too.)Stars: Honestly, picking a star rating was difficult. I genuinely hated this book at times but… I couldn’t stop reading it and I will definitely be picking up the next book.Recommended?: This is my first book by Olivia Wildenstein so I can’t recommend another read from her but for a YA fae series that I actually enjoyed, try The Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa. It has a much less unique perspective on the fae, but it is an extremely addictive, well written adventure.

I'm always on the look out for new reads with intriguing folklore that are scripted brilliantly. I can honestly say this one fits the bill perfectly.This story has twists and turns that will keep you guessing as to who are actually the bad guys or the good guys. There's clean romance with a touch of instant attraction. I really enjoyed the folklore that were introduced that made this story believable. The characters all played their parts and making the reader decide who to root for.I've already purchased the other books of this series. I recommend this series for readers who love folklore, supernatural powers, and clean romance.Happy Reading!!

In 'Rose Petal Graves', Olivia Wildenstein has woven an interesting tale with intriguing folklore in an extremely unique, creative and different plot and storyline.Well written, this engaging book has main characters that are complex and well defined, and the secondary cast of characters, good and not so good, do enhance and give credence to the storyline.There is good interaction and dialogue between the different characters, and there is also good detailed description to the various scenes and settings.The Author has delivered a tale that has a love story, family, grief, mystical creatures and so much more. All this in an original, captivating and engaging story that keeps the reader's attention from the beginning.Recommended.Gifted with a copy which I voluntarily reviewed.

I genuinely was pleasantly surprised by this book. I've gotten into a bit of a book rut where all the stories have similar themes, blend into one another and I thought this would be another book I'd forget in 5 seconds. I'm glad this one woke me up and I was wrong. I loved the main character. She was honest and strong minded without being overly obnoxious and overbearing.The world building was great and the secondary characters I enjoyed (some more than others)I liked the lore the most. It was very original and stands out from other Fae books. A lot of time has been taken to build the lore and it carries the story well.I would so recommend this book to my friends and anyone who would like an original story. I'm not sure why but the way the author tells the story quite reminds me of the sookie stackhouse novels which I also enjoyed back in the day.

Olivia Wildenstein’s Rose Petal Graves (The Lost Clan Book 1) is wonderfully original. Not only because if it’s genuine feel (I really want to find out that Rowan is a real town: it must be, even without fae) but also because of the genuine feel to its characters (definitely including the conniving fae, and their conflicts with the hunters) and the wonderful folklore and world-building created to support the story. Add on a wonderful lead, as I love Catori Price (though I don’t envy her the choices she has to make) and a well written plot with a number of totally unexpected twists and turns (nope, not gonna spoil them) and perfectly crafted characters. The result is one great read. But for the fact that I’m literally dictating this review my husband from my hospital bed I could go on and on with praises - the book definitely deserves it. Since I can’t do that I will simply note that the book is most definitely one to read, and it is easy to highly recommend. I’m definitely looking forward to the next book in this series.

This author was new to me and I’m seriously glad I took a chance on them, and this series as Rose Petal Graves is amazing. I really hope the rest of the series lives up to book 1.Catori is training to become a doctor but has to put her education on hold when her mother dies suddenly and she has to return home for the funeral. She’s convinced her mother didn’t die of natural causes and even after the medical examiner pronounces the cause of death she isn’t satisfied. Something isn’t right and she knows it. There’s also something about Cruz, the medical examiner, that Catori can’t explain. When she learns the truth about him, her ancestors and her mother, she’s forced to see the world with new eyes. Life for Catori will never be the same again.Some people might find Cat (Catori) flighty, as she keeps changing her mind, but I think she’s just an open minded person who is desperately trying to find her way and place in this “new world”. She knows absolutely nothing about the history of her people, or their enemies, which makes it difficult to decide who to trust. Not to mention that no-one is very forthcoming with her and they all tell her bits and pieces of the story. Add in the fact that Cat is still grieving, and you can understand why she’s willing to listen to everyone and even give second chances like she does. There are the makings of a love triangle in this book, so if that isn’t your thing, then you might not like the direction the book takes. Cruz is one of Cat’s love interests and their chemistry is obvious. He’s a very secretive character and while I suspect he has Cat’s best interests at heart, he doesn’t go about things in quite the right way. Her other love interest is a little more complicated and I don’t want to give too much away so that’s all I’m going to say about him. I’m not sure which one I want to claim her heart, but it’ll be fun finding out.Honestly, I almost didn’t bother with this book as the cover didn’t exactly draw me in. It’s bright and pretty and eye-catching but I get so many recommendations that I’ve begun to ‘judge a book by its cover’. Stupid I know, but I know the types of books I read and enjoy and have begun to identify with certain types of artwork. Thankfully, since I was being offered the chance to win an audio version of the book, I took the time to read the blurb and realised that ‘Rose Petal Graves,’ was just my sort of book. If I hadn’t of won a copy, I might have missed out on an amazing story. It has a bit of a depressing start but stick with it, it is well worth it, I promise. The story is captivating, unique and very well written; it’s very descriptive but not overdone which means it feels very natural. I lost myself completely to the story, so much so that I could barely find it in me to hit pause and go to bed. I can’t wait for the next book.Profanity: NegligibleSexual content: NegligibleViolence: Moderate but sporadic

I thought this book was imaginative and entertaining in equal measures. It grabbed my attention from the start and didn't let go until I had finished it. The sorry follows Catori as she is stuck in the middle of a centuries old battle between faeries and hunters and has to choose which side she is on. The story starts with Cat's mother's death, which is ruled as a heart attack, but Cat thinks it is murder so investigates. This leads her into the heart of the battle and the story follows on from there. There were lots of twists and turns in the story and you never quite know who to believe and which way Cat will turn. I felt the ending was a bit rushed as it is just getting good when it suddenly stops, although it is a very good cliffhanger for the sequel, which I will definitely be buying once it is released.

This is a good read. Interesting story, kept me engaged throughout.Really enjoyed the characters and the settings.Fun and entertaining read.

I was excited to start reading this book. I liked the authors mix of Native American mythology and fae, but the story really suffered from a lack of story telling and world building.I found the fmc immature and never really developed an attatchment to her. As a result i couldnt become invested in her sruggles.while there is plenty of male attention directed at the fmc the story still struggled with a romantic interest, tension .i would comfotably recommend this book to a younger demographic or people looking for a quick, semi interesting book to fill in time, but not for anyone looking for a memorable read.I dont think il read the next book in the series.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was a great start to this series. Cat loses her mother and gets a fast lesson in family history. She learns that she is more than a normal girl and that there are people who would gladly kill her. She has no idea who she can trust.